The Three Trees
by PLKBerry
Summary: What goes up, must come down, and in this world what is destroyed must be reawakened. AU about rediscovering the key to the labyrinth. One-shot, very vague. POV of OC. Rating for  different  OC death.


**So... I'm not 100% sure what this is, but I have it and I'm posting it. I'm imagining the ball to be Adraine's string (I know that's not how it's described in the books, but it's all modern-y now) and the character (I picture a girl, but whatever you think of) as Adraine's decendant. Her mother is some sort of minor goddess, I think, that didn't actually die in childbirth and now my character just got caught in the sort of trouble only demigods can get caught in. So, she was in some sort of tussle earlier today and now she's here. So yeah. That's my background. This was a journaling for school, and I liked it, so I adapted it slightly and BAM! This happened. Enjoy. Or not. I won't tell you what to do. I'll shut up now.**

It's official; I'm lost. Completely, totally lost. All I can see is rolling hills out in the vast darkness, and a small grove of three leafless trees, looking forlornly down at the muddy ground. Without a way to get back home, and no light through the clouds to guide me to help, I decide to take shelter with the trees. It's difficult, all the the branches are so high and out of reach, and the bark is smooth and slick with rain. The fresh spring air is tainted with chill and the water and mud seems to spread to the marrow of my bones.

After several attempts, I was eventually able to get to the lowest branch. From there, the complex tangle of tree limbs made it difficult to navigate, but simple to climb. I wormed my way into a small section of interwoven branches that easily supported my weight. Looking for some escape from the frigid biting cold, I stuffed my icy hands into my pockets, but found my fingers curling around a small spherical something. Taking it out, I discovered that mysterious object that I had lost earlier. How did I have it now? It always intrigued me. I wonder now what it did, and my mother was so adamant I had it, even before I was born. Had she known she would die in childbirth? Why else would she give it to my father to keep?

Twirling it in my fingers, my father's last words reverberated through my cranium. Though he wheezed with every word, his voice had been clear and strong, _You must keep this safe. I know it seems useless now, but if you get to the sacred place alive and understand it's message, it will protect and guide you through your task. Listen very carefully. The sacred place will only appear when you are far from everything you know, but it will always come in the same location in the same form. It is_, and he paused to draw an unsteady breath.

It was the last breath he every drew.

Pondering this, the small stone-like object cracked. It had never had completely even surface, but now I could feel a thin crevice weaving through the dark exterior like a labyrinth. Was it just me, or did it seem a bit lighter now? I blinked up through the tangled branches, seeing no stars in a sky far from sunrise. I turned my attention back to the ball. Okay, it was definitely lighter now. It couldn't possibly be... glowing?

As the single crack ran across the sphere, light poured from all around it, spilling out of what now looked like a web- and the crack was still going. Light danced all around me, overflowing into the darkness on the outside of the trees. I took a breath, and the air felt crisp and cool, no longer heavy and muggy. So I'd found the sacred place. That much was clear. All that was left to do was learn the significance of this sphere...

As I thought this, the branches fell out from under me and the last thing I saw before becoming incased in darkness was a tangle of tree limbs blockading the clouds. Deep in darkness, the round sphere in my hand let out a flash of light brighter than an atomic bomb, and I saw my surrondings.

This just got very interesting.

**Yeah, one-shot. Sorry. Rest is up to you. What is the sacred place? It was the only entrance to the labyrinth that wasn't destroyed. What happens next is she finds that she can go under and, while she fights through rubble and whatnot, she's got the map and all the monsters that lurked there are dead now so she's pretty okay. She ends up being able to use it to her advantage. Let's say she helps reunited the Greeks and Romans. That'll work. Or maybe she's the villian. Maybe she works for Gaea. Or maybe once Gaea realized she was there Gaea crushed and killed in with the rock above. Endless possibilties.**

**Anyhow, sorry for the serious lack of updates. I've been crazy busy, as all my friends can attest to. I still need to figure out where I'm serving my internship... Fab. Anywho, thanks to everyone who continues to have me on author or story alert- I really appreciate it!**

**Peace, Love, & Life**

**PLKBerry**


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